Apple debuts iCloud Drive at WWDC 2014

One of the biggest reveals to come out of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2014 (WWDC) on Monday, June 2nd involves iCloud Drive. This file system allows users to store documents in the cloud.

Until now, Dropbox has reigned at the top of the market for cloud-based storage. Originally launched in 2008, it boasted more than 200 million users by the end of last year. Launched in 2012, Google Drive also provides a place to share information.

Sure to bring some competition to Dropbox and Google Drive, Apple’s new iCloud Drive provides a folder for each app you use, accessed through Finder. These files are then synced across Windows, iOS and OS X. Apple promises you can access your images, spreadsheets, PDFs or even your presentations stored in iCloud, from your PC, MAC, iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.

To upload files, users drag them to their iCloud Drive. You can also use an iCloud-enabled app to start a new document on your iOS device. Any changes you make by using one device translate to your other devices too. This means everything is updated at once. There is no iCloud Drive app currently for iOS. Users will need to open an app using iCloud Drive storage to find their files stored in iCloud Drive.

The price is competitive. For 20 GB of storage it is $0.99 each month. That price bumps to $3.99 per month for 200 GB. You iCloud account comes with 5 GB of storage.

In comparison, both Dropbox and Google Drive include a similar feature for dragging and dropping. As well, they offer a small amount of storage for free, with additional storage upgrades coming at a fee.

iCloud works on Windows. It is not known, yet, if Apple will eventually allow the storage platform on Android or Windows Phone.

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Peter Ma is a technologist, entrepreneur and serial hacker who grew up in New York City. He is the founder of adtap, a mobile advertising platform. After graduating from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a BS degree, he has worked with multiple startups and started two of his own companies. People describe him as an "ambitious, persistence, resilient risk taker". He is currently residing in San Francisco as an independent consultant who builds iOS, Android, and HTML5 applications.